The Green Haven Ward was austere compared to the facilities of The Mount of Olives Baptist Church, but then, the Mormons had their temples.

Like little children, we played ping-pong & Ultimate Frisbee, had cookies & Kool-Aid, & talked about our friends. We were the unmarried Mormons.

One temple marriage a month was Green Haven Ward’s average, & Kath, Leann, & I were expected to contribute to it. The girl least likely would.

The notion of going to Brigham Young University or on a mission, of marrying young, & having many children was foreign to me.

I’d seen what I wanted that hot July day, & so I spurned all others, ultimately saving my hand, if not myself, for when he returned.

The R.M.s (returned missionaries) were considered a real catch for the Y.S.A. (young single adult) women.

I had never been casual about sex, but I’d never considered making love outside of marriage as tampering with the sacred powers of procreation.

Elder Roberts, for me, was a cool drink on a balmy day. Tony, for Kath, was a wildfire without hope of abeyance. I knew love, but not passion.

When Kath asked me if I’d ever been in love, I said, “I am in love,” for I’m in love with an elder, who is out there, making himself worthy of me.